Back in 2015, after 11 years of beavering away at Cheltenham Borough Council, people started talking about an ambitious new idea to bring four councils together under a new ‘delivery vehicle’ (not a milk float) which would deliver efficiency savings and improvements for the customer. The new organisation would have a more commercial focus, while also retaining a public sector ethos.
The first I knew of it was when colleagues from Cotswold District Council started making regular visits, talking about the development of the business case. I was immediately on board and energised by engaging with partners from outside the organisation.
I completely bought into the vision. I could see that sharing services could deliver cost savings and drive up standards if the right people were selected to drive and embed the change.
Why have four service managers when you can have one – and that one is the best of the bunch?
The business case
- Why have four service managers when you can have one – and that one is the best of the bunch?
- Why have four separate IT systems with four sets of license and maintenance costs?
- Why limit yourself to a small isolated number of specialists when you can have a larger group that provides more opportunities for personal growth and greater business resilience?
Some stakeholders were concerned about a loss of control if services and staff were shared
Of course, for all of the potential benefits there were also risks and doubts. Some stakeholders:
- Were concerned about a lack of sovereignty – that they would lose control of services if they were shared. Rather than having full control, they would have to negotiate with other partners on more strategic decisions.
- Were concerned that they would no longer receive the same quality of service, and that local knowledge would be lost.
- Were worried about losing individuals that they’d had long and productive working relationships with.
- Were worried about losing their own jobs.
- Were concerned about the cultural challenges associated with bringing four organisations together
Some stakeholders were worried about losing their own jobs
My enthusiasm wasn’t universal and some even viewed it as a hostile takeover. Some colleagues were sniffy about partnership colleagues. I remember one senior manager dismissing another as being ‘like a used car salesman’. This was the canary in the mine for another key challenge – culture differences.
Despite all four authorities doing the same work for residents and businesses that were demographically broadly similar, the organisations were culturally quite different. While on some levels a truly collaborative spirit existed, on others there was a much more competitive tension. One organisation was characterised as having a more friendly ‘family’ working culture in contrast to others that were perceived as more corporate and hard nosed. There were also political differences with two of the councils having conservative administrations, one Lib Dem and one a ‘rainbow alliance’.
In 2015, I was appointed to the core programme team as the implementation programme manager. I joined two other programme managers and we reported to the programme director who himself reported to the shadow MD. Shortly after, the wider transformation team was appointed which included staff from all partner councils, plus some brought in externally. It was important to include staff from all partners as part of gaining buy in.
Our core team all had the same passion and vision and it was exciting work. We had a blank sheet of paper and a none too shabby budget to make this thing happen.
To be continued.
Leave a Reply